A Flower For Your Grave
by SingsWithWords
Summary: She didn't know why she went back to that place. It didn't make sense, to leave flowers on the grave of an enemy, but somehow she didn't feel right not doing something to show that they had a connection, however odd the circumstances had been.


A/N: Hello everyone, and I'm very sorry that it's been so long since I last updated...nearly two months, actually. Anyway, Here is a oneshot that was co-written with Stefanie92.

When both of us read the reintroduction of Akatsuki into the series through Edo Tensei, we became rather excited at the possibility of Sakura having another encounter with Sasori, another chance to shine, but unfortunately that didn't happen. I'm quite happy with the fact that Kankuro was the one to fight Sasori, although it ended rather quickly. In any event though, this piece is our interpretation of what could have happened, were Sasori and Sakura to meet during the great battle against Madara, the Zetsu horde/Edo tensei shinobi, and Kabuto.

This takes place one year after the final battle and the end of the series. Sakura is seventeen at this point, and all villages are experiencing a form of peace. However, one thing remains. Many of those who were brought back with Edo Tensei still remain, even after Kabuto's death, and roam about the continent, taking care of the things that refuse to allow them to move on. A jutsu has been discovered that can send them back, but tracking down the undead is harder than it looks. It is only by coincidence, that Sakura ran into him...

suggsted listenings: Saiun and Cherry Blossoms in Winter, by the Yoshida Brothers.

Disclaimer: Neither I nor Stefanie92 own Naruto or claim to own him, or any of the characters in this fanfiction. It says 'fanfiction' in the title, so I do believe that is fairly apparent.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Good morning, forehead," Ino said, her mouth slipping into a wide grin as the pink-haired kunoichi made her way over to the counter. It was a rare thing for Ino to see the young jounin these days, what with her work in the hospital, having graduated from her studies with Tsunade, and even more rare for her to drop by her family's flower shop.<p>

"Morning, pig," Sakura said cheerfully, peering about the shop.

Ino leaned her cheek on one hand, watching as she looked about. It was clear as day she was looking for something, but not certain exactly what it was. "Need some help, forehead?" She looked her over, eyes searching. Sakura was dressed for travel, in her jounin uniform, although she was missing her pack at the moment. She was going somewhere...but why would she need flowers?

Sakura paused, mid-search. "Maybe..." she said hesitantly, Ino...what flowers are good for placing at grave sites?"

Ino blinked. "You're visiting a grave?"

"Well, yeah," Sakura murmured, glancing to several black-eyed susans to the side. "These are pretty," she said softly, running her finger over one velvety leaf.

She watched her curiously. "Who's grave are you visiting?"

"Er...no-one's, just an old acquaintance..." Sakura replied hurriedly, glancing up to Ino as if slightly surprised that she had asked.

Suspicious. Ino crossed her arms. "An old acquaintance, hmm?" she frowned, "Sakura, dear, did you have a secret boyfriend who died tragically and not tell me?" She knew that probably wasn't the case, but oh well. It was fun to tease.

"NO, he wasn't a boyfriend, he was-" Sakura clapped a hand over her mouth, clearly looking positively _horrified _at the idea.

"You're looking a little green there," Ino said slowly. After a moment she pulled a face. It was a little odd that Sakura would have such a negative reaction. "So, tell me again, _whose _grave are you going to?" She batted her eyes innocently.

Sakura looked away. "A old enemy's."

Ino blinked. Once, twice, again, then shook herself out of it. "Who?"

Sakura drew her thumb across the silky petal of a geranium. "Sasori."

Her reaction was immediate. "Ew. That creepy puppet guy?" she shuddered. "That's a little weird, don't you think? Especially since he was in Akatsuki..." her expression darkened, and she said in a very serious tone, "Why?"

"Well...I'm going to be visiting a village nearby the site in River Country...and I just had this sudden thought, that it's kind of sad that he has no-one to visit his grave. I'm sure Chiyo would have," she said softly, clearly lost in thought.

"Sad, even after all the crap he's done?" She said incredulously.

Sakura looked away. "Before they cancelled the jutsu, Chiyo asked me to go, at some point."

"Oh, the old woman you fought with back when Gaara was captured, right?" She shuddered a little. It was weird referring to people that were dead as if they were alive, even though they were technically past the grave...although still present in this world. It was mind-boggling. "Ah, well..." She looked away uncomfortably. It was an odd concept to wrap your mind around, and it always set Ino on edge a little bit, especially when she occasionally saw her sensei's face around from time to time, although technically it was only his soul occupying someone else's body.

"Well...do you have anything you could suggest?" Sakura asked after a moment, looking at her curiously. She paused for a moment. "I shouldn't be putting so much thought into this."

"No, you really shouldn't be," she said sternly, but the look on Sakura's face said it went deeper than that. Ino had only heard Sakura speak of Sasori twice in the year and a half since they had fought. And each time, Sakura seemed to be locked in memory, unable to let go of that one incident, of the impression he had left upon her. From what she described, Sasori was sick...a very sick, twisted creature, but at the same time, pitiful. Even so, it was clear..._crystal _clear, that there was something more under the surface. "I'll help you though, anyhow," she agreed with a small sigh, "It'll give me the chance to show you up in something, at least."

"I'm sorry Ino, this must seem so weird...it's just...I don't know," Sakura sighed, "Sasori just...wasn't the kind of person who you can part ways with alive and forget about."

She snorted. "Well, I can't imagine anyone from the Akatsuki being forgettable. They were one big band of freaks." She started looking about the various shelves, ticking off meanings and flower names in her head as she looked at each one, trying to figure out just which one would be fitting for such a thing. It was an odd request, to be sure, and even odder thing to do, but she would try and find something that would work. "Here, this one will work," Ino said after a moment, taking several carnations out of a small vase, "It's the perfect default...bt they'll probably wilt, I mean, it takes nearly five days to get to River Country from here."

Sakura's face fell. "I didn't even think about that..." she paused, thinking, then sighed. "Well something is better than nothing, I guess."

Ino began wrapping them, including a small gourd of water which she placed the clipped ends in. "This will keep them good for a few days...or maybe..." she paused. "I have some dried flowers in the back!"

"Dried flowers?" Sakura lips twisted wryly. That was almost too fitting. "That would be perfect, thanks, pig."

"Ehh?" Ino glanced up from wrapping the flowers, then gave a small smile. "Sure, I guess, if that works then I'll go get them out for you. Be right back!"

* * *

><p><em>Sakura's apartment<em>

She didn't even know why she was bothering to visit that place...most certainly, it held significance to her, but it was more than that. "It's in the area," she rationalized aloud, "It's only fitting." Grabbing up another skirt and folding it neatly, she placed it in with the rest of her clothes in her pack. She glanced over to the dried flowers, the stems wrapped and tied in brown paper, sitting upon her dresser...and to the neatly pressed daisy that sat beside her picture frame of team seven. Pausing for a moment, she reached out and picked it up, adding it to the small bouquet. She knew the real reason she was going. It had eaten away at her since the final battle, since Naruto and Sasuke together had defeated Madara, since Kabuto had died and all those under edo tensei had been released from his control.

It had only been a moment...just a moment.

The air had been clouded with a thick, dark smoke, lit underneath by the flames that licked up from the forest. Burning embers carried on the wind as she and the rest of her team hid behind the ledge, watching Madara where he stood, hands on his hips, looking down at the battle that raged below as zetsus swarmed the shinobi on the battlefield. And then there had been a dark figure, leaping over them, with gleaming red eyes...Itachi, closely followed by his brother and Naruto. They looked about, as the area was suddenly charged with figures of the dead, all rushing toward Madara as a screen of smoke began to billow outward, hiding them in their rush to battle. In that moment it occurred to her that the jutsu had been released, and all of them were in control of their own bodies, all of them were working to aide in the battle against Madara. And then she saw him.

For some reason, in that split second when she caught the puppetmaster's eyes, something happened...something kind of weird. She had never thought of herself as terribly important to Akatsuki, or to any particular person aside from Sasuke and Naruto. She only associated herself with Akatsuki because of the affiliation with her two boys. That was it. They wanted to hurt them, destroy, suck the soul from her friend, and keep Sasuke as a pawn. And yet the way he looked at her...

Her fingers clenched tightly around a spare shirt at the thought, before she calmed herself. Well, that was supposed to be their only connection, but the way he looked at her, she knew that just wasn't the case, when she had crossed paths with a very dead and yet very much living Akasuna no Sasori.

It had been just a moment, but he had recognized her, she could tell. He had paused as he ran past...just a split second, when his pace had slowed and his eyes widened with recognition, and he mouthed those words, before he turned away.  
><em><br>Sakura? You..._

The way he had looked at her...it was like she meant something, like she was important. The moment of recognition that had passed between them seemed to stop time, if only for a moment. And yet it went above 'hey, that's the brat who killed me,' and 'oh, that creepy freak I helped kill is actually here.' At least, from Sasori's side of things, that was how it had seemed...he wasn't pulled into a sudden fit of rage, he didn't try to exact his revenge or anything of the sort. Instead, he simply looked surprised to see her there. And then the moment had been over, and he had ran, disappearing into the fray.

Hastily, she stuffed the last two outfits into her pack adn clasped it shut, hefting it onto her shoulders. "Well, time to go then," she muttered to herself, still troubled with the thought of where she was going, and why.

* * *

><p><em>Village Inn, River Country.<em>

"How long will you be staying?"

"Just a few days, at the most," Sakura said, handing the man before her a few coins in return for a key. Once she reached her room, she dumped her pack on the bed, about to collapse from exhaustion when the crinkle of paper and delicate things sounded beneath it. With a pang, she realized she'd forgotten about the flowers. She opened it quickly. The dried flowers Ino gave her peeked from the top, a few petals and leaves falling with the sudden movement. She touched the petals gently, not wanting them to crack and fall apart any more than they already had.

Seeing flowers and not associating them with Sasori was becoming harder and harder with each passing day. It was an odd and rather out-of-place thing to tie to such a person, but after what he did in the forest, before all hell broke loose and the battle became even more desperate, there was no way she could forget.

* * *

><p><em>All she could remember was that she was running, and running fast. Her legs were carrying her too far from where the action was taking place, too far from the battle, from anyone who could help her. She was alone, and there were two zetsu clones on her trail. Her fist pounded into a copy as she reached the final moment, when she couldn't run any longer, and was forced to attack. To her horror, the thing began absorbing her hand into its flesh, trapping it there. Eyes narrowing, she shot out chakra scalpels in every direction from her fingertips, slashing apart what insides were still intact within the creature.<em>

_One down, one to go, she ticked off mentally. Her every mental function was on high alert, eyes darting about rapidly in every direction, trying to pinpoint the locations of the rest of them. They were being more careful in their approach this time, not rushing her head-on. This was getting dangerous. _

_A snap of a twig came from her right, but too late she realized that this was merely a diversion as she saw something coming from the left. At the last moment she managed to dodge out of the way so her entire body wouldn't take the impact, but her wrist was slammed back into a tree as a vine whipped around its trunk, effectively tying her hand in place. 'Shit shit shit this is NOT good', she thought. She could see one of the Zetsus speeding toward her as the ground roiled beneath him. There was no time, she couldn't pull her hand free. It was impossible, for this vine to be as strong as it was. She couldn't dodge. She was alone, and there was nowhere to run. _

_It all happened in less than four seconds. Her wrist was bound, the clone attacked, and at the last second, she put her free hand into action, forcing her chakra-laden palm into the clone's chest with a sickening 'squelch'. She blinked. She hadn't thought she moved fast enough, but the creature had almost...hesitated, at the last moment, as if something held it back. The force of the impact crushed everything in its path, and the chakra scalpel just made matters much worse for the clone as it coughed up some sort of sickly green ooze that smelled horrid. It splashed on her arm, sizzling painfully where it touched her skin. She cried out, unable to hold back a pained little moan as the thing collapsed before her._

_She could hear the sounds of another fight close by, but they ended abruptly with a loud cry and the sound of metal cutting through flesh. For a moment, the clearing fell silent, save for the sounds of battle some miles away. 'I need to move,' she thought frantically, 'someone might be hurt or in trouble or-!' She didn't have much time to finish her thoughts as she stumbled suddenly, her simple attempt to stand straight causing a sudden wave of nausea and dizziness. She fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. "What the hell?" she said, voice shaking. It was in her crouched position that she saw a small cut on her arm was bleeding, that definitely hadn't been there half a minute ago. It was then that it occurred to her that each Zetsu body had plant origins, and that perhaps their entire body was poisonous. 'Even a small scratch from one...' She hoped the other medics had caught on to this._

_Her stomach clenched, and she vomited blood. It was attacking her organ tissue, it seemed. 'Well,' she thought, 'this could set me back a bit,' but she knew it was ultimately nothing she couldn't handle. Rather slowly, she began the process of drawing the venom from her system, leaning heavily back against an old oak tree. Beside her, upon the ground, she noticed something odd. A small daisy, one that hadn't been crushed by trampling feet and bodies as the battle passed through. One small ray of sunshine that had survived through the turmoil around it. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, and Sakura leaned her head back, closing her eyes as exhaustion overtook her. She wanted so terribly to be alert to her surroundings, but if she didn't concentrate on pulling the poison from her system she knew she would have more than just enemies to worry about._

_A small sigh of relief escaped her lips as she drew the last of the poison from the cut and let it, and the blood it had contaminated (she had no water on hand with which to extract it) slosh on the grass. She proceeded to close the injury, then attempted to stand once again. Hunching forward, the kunoichi shakily supported herself with her arms, taking deep, labored breathes, but realized she was, for the moment, too exhausted. She'd never had to fight at a constant rate for so long...what was it now? Four days? She couldn't really remember, except that she barely ate save for the occasional soldier pill, and barely had time to rest. Not to mention the battle with Kabuto less than a day earlier (may he rot in hell) really messed her up something good. Distantly, as she failingly tried to keep her eyes open, she heard the slight rustle of grass underfoot, but the sound didn't quite register in her current state._

_She only closed her eyes for a moment. She could hear her shishou scolding her internally, for being such a fool as to rest in the midst of battle, but if she didn't have the strength to defend herself, it would be useless to push onward only to collapse. She had nearly slipped into a dreamless sleep when she felt a cold chill trickle down her back. Someone was watching her. Sakura's eyes snapped open, wild and frantic, searching the surrounding area to pinpoint the source of her discomfort. There. There it was, some distance off to the left, only a few feet behind her. She reached for a kunai, slowly...or at least, her mind fiercely ordered her hand to reach for it, but she found herself locked in place. Why couldn't she move? She swallowed her panic, and tried to fight against the force that was holding her in place, but she barely budged an inch. _

_The panic which she had half-managed to suppress came back full force when her arm began to move seemingly of it's own volition._

_Despite her fear, an odd, almost familiar sense was rising in the back of her mind. It was almost like deja vu, as if she'd experienced something akin to this before, but not quite the same. Her breath came out in tiny gasps as her arm eased forward, not toward some sort of weapon, or her throat as she had initially thought, but towards the daisy on the ground beside her? She watched, half-disturbed, half-curious, as she plucked the daisy from the ground, drawing it up and gently brushing her hair back before placing it behind her ear. _

_She blinked. _

_It was the most ridiculous of gestures, and yet she found herself doing this in the midst of a heated battle. She felt her muscles suddenly relax as whatever had hold over her was released, but her relief was quashed before it could set over her, at the sound of a man's voice breaking through the silence. _

_"So we come face to face once again, little girl."_

_She was frozen again, but not due to the jutsu that had held her body, controlled her, for a few short moments. She KNEW that voice. Slowly, her head turned. _

_Despite the shock that she should be feeling, she found it almost a little bit funny that Sasori held the exact same expression that he wore during their first encounter, at the moment that he had revealed his face after she crushed Hiruko. That same cocky grin, the one that said 'this'll be easy', and the same hooded eyes, although now they were rimmed with black. He looked much less like the boy-puppet that he had been when she first met him, and more...human. She supposed, perhaps, this was how he had originally looked when he had transferred his consciousness into the puppet body. Slightly taller, face less round and boyish as he bordered on seventeen, hair perhaps an inch longer than the wild fiery locks his puppet form had possessed, falling neatly to frame his face. But there were obvious differences, things that told her he was not the same. His eyes weren't glassy, but clouded like those of a dead man. Cold, lifeless, and blackened. His irises were still the same shade of amber, but the rest...she shivered. He was clearly no longer among the living. _

_He stepped forward, and crouched down to eye-level nearly two feet away, watching her. Instinctively, she backed up and felt her shoulders connect with the tree behind her. _

_She knew the battle was lost before either of them even lifted a finger. If Sasori decided to kill her at this point, he could easily do so. She had neither the strength nor the will to face him as she was, exhausted, sleep-deprived and depleted of all but the barest minimum of chakra. _

_Slowly, he raised his hand. His fingertips brushed against her skin, and she curled away with a small hiss of displeasure at the feeling...cold, lifeless, but most certainly human. She flinched as he pressed his hand lightly to her cheek once again, with the slightest of hesitations as an unreadable expression passed over his face. She couldn't seem to look away, and he seemed transfixed. His amber pupils widened slightly as he drew a cool thumb over her lips, then brushed a strand of dirty hair from her face, fingers lightly dragging over her cheek. _

_"Wha-whatareyoudoing?" She might as well have been welded to the tree with how far back she was pressed into it. Maybe if she begged the gods enough, the trunk would just open up and suck her in. The way he was looking at her, his proximity, was making her more than uncomfortable._

_Sasori leaned back, simply watching her as his hand dropped to his side. There was a slight glint of suspicion in his eyes, but he didn't move to attack. They remained in this position as the minutes stretched on, and he shifted slightly, glancing away. _

_"What...what are you doing here?"_

_His eyes flicked upward to meet hers, and suddenly she was affronted with an onslaught of emotion. Dull as they were, his eyes did nothing to hold back the emotions that slid over his face. The set of his lips, the slight wrinkle of his brow, said that he was in pain. Not one that could be defined or attributed to a physical wound, or even perhaps a mental one. Simply pain. A deep, expressive pain, so blatantly apparent on his face, holding sharp contrast to the expressionless puppet she had once fought. _

_Sakura took a sharp breath at the sight. To say she was more than a little surprised that anyone from Akatsuki felt anything akin to pain was an understatement, but she could still remember Chiyo's words after the battle had ended and Sasori lay dead at her feet. He could have dodged the last attack but didn't, having long since grasped the naivety of his actions, of his philosophy. Even if all of Akatsuki were sadists...Sakura chewed her lip nervously. There was only one thing she could do, when she was nervous. Talk. _

_"You're not enjoying this very much, are you?" she blurted out before clasping a hand to her lips, shocked that she had allowed her thoughts to escape aloud._

_He was clearly taken aback by her suddenness, physically leaning away from her, eyes widening just the smallest amount before he replied, his voice quiet, "No." The corner of his lip twitched slightly with the smallest hint of a bitter smile. "It seems I just can't die, can I?"_

_Sakura rubbed the back of her neck anxiously (this was far too personal for her liking), but smiled sardonically. "I don't think being dead is so final for anyone anymore."_

_A small chuckle escaped his lips, and he stood. "I hope you survive this battle...Sakura," he murmured, seemingly trying the sound of her name on his lips like it was new to him. "Perhaps we'll meet again in the afterlife, but...another time." The smile disappeared, and he turned, walking purposefully back toward the forest to disappear once more. _

_"Wait!" Ohgodwhy? Why couldn't she just let him walk away? Torture torture torture. She didn't even know WHY she called out for him to wait, but there he was. Waiting anyway, looking at her with an eyebrow raised, as if saying "Well?". Well, she actually didn't know what she wanted to say. A lot of things, she supposed. Like, why doesn't he want to kill her? She (stupidly) voiced this concern out loud. _

_Sasori paused for a moment, looking her over as if searching for something before voicing his simple reply. "It goes against my core beliefs to destroy something beautiful." He watched her for a moment, before he whispered a quiet 'goodbye' and turned, disappearing into the trees. _

_"Oh," she squeaked out through her hand, which was now covering her mouth in shock. She was quite positive that she was blushing, too. Well that was unexpected. And how DARE he leave before she could get (beat) an explanation out of him!_

Sakura blinked, pulling out of the memory. The flower in her palm had been crushed. She closed her eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath. She should go, and leave them before the petals were damaged any further. Slowly, she gathered all the necessary items in her pack; weapons, medical supplies, scrolls, and the bouquet of dried flowers, before locking the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she passed beneath the arch which had once been occupied by an enormous stone, the entrance to the (now collapsed) cave in which the battle had taken place. Glancing about, she found that not much had changed. The place was littered with the decayed remains of old puppets. Some were in better condition than others, the wood-like material appearing to have been petrified, to some degree, but the scars of battle still remained. Ivy grew down the sides of the open cavern, extending into the darkness of areas where the roof had not collapsed inward.<p>

The sense that she should have her guard up, to be ready to start fighting with all her might came upon her. Then again, she'd done nothing but fight in this cave, so it seemed almost strange to be lax as she was, to not expect something to come at her. She moved cautiously anyway, easing her way to the center of the crumbled cave step by step.

Sakura felt something crack beneath her foot and nearly jumped halfway out of her skin, but looked down to find nothing more than a rusted senbon needle beneath her sandal. She scoffed at it, kicking it away with her boot and continuing onward as she inwardly admonished herself for being so easily startled. Finally, she reached her destination. Admittedly, the puppet of Sasori was still in wonderful shape, as well as the Mother and the Father. Although the puppet of himself which Sasori had first used in battle against her and Chiyo had been removed from where it had once been pinned to the wall, the puppet which had contained his core still remained on the ground, splayed between his parents. It was still in remarkable condition, alongside the other two. They lay exactly as they had before, in the same shape.

Slowly, she crouched down and gently removed the flowers from her pack. They crinkled as she set them to one side. Something about this wasn't right. She just felt as if something about this entire situation was just...off, something wasn't quite right...and then it hit her. Sasori didn't even have a grave marker in Sunagakure. There was nothing left behind. Rifling through her pack, she pulled out a kunai and set to work on the stone that lay before the puppets, carving out in shaky letters:

_**Akasuna no Sasori**_

"How very touching," a voice said dryly from behind her.

She started at the sound of the voice and stumbled back, nearly crashing into the three damaged puppets before her in her haste to turn...and there he was. A mere three feet away, watching her.

"Whatthehell!" she shrieked as loud as she could, her voice echoing around the cave.

Sasori appeared to wince slightly, a hand raised to his ear at the shriek. He crouched down over the tilted stone, the very same one upon which Sakura had carved his name, eyes locked on her as his fingers absently traced over the rough kanji which she had scraped into its surface.

Sakura breathed heavily, still half-scared out of her wits. She was so tempted to just hit him, and she might have if he were anyone else. "Why the hell," she spoke slowly, an edge of danger to her tone, "do you keep insisting on sneaking UP on me like that?"

"I wasn't even masking my signature," he sniffed, "I didn't 'sneak' in the least, you are simply inept."

She punched the ground on reflex, her anger getting the better of her yet again as she smiled forcefully, fist wrist-deep in the cavern floor. "Inept, huh?" Hmph! She was anything but!

A low, quiet chuckle escaped his lips. "It's so easy."

_'Easy to do what?'_ she wondered, but brushed it aside. For now, she had another question. "Why are you here?" she asked, annoyed.

Sasori leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "I have nothing better to do," he said, his tone suggesting boredom.

"Oh," she said simply. Well, he wouldn't have much to do now, would he? Not with the state many of the shinobi nations were in. Everything was at a state of impasse after the war. There was far too much to take care of for there to be much conflict between nations. Mercenary jobs and the like for missing-nin were probably sparse as well, not to mention the fact that, well...he probably didn't have much of a purpose anymore. It was no wonder he was lurking about here. "Sooo..." she said, her voice dragging, "Come here often?" She could have smacked herself with how 'pick-up-line-ish' that just sounded.

Sasori inclined his head slightly. "On occasion." He glanced away, seemingly distracted as he picked at the uneven edge of one of the kanji of his name.

"I see..." she said awkwardly. "Funny that you show up when I did." Yeah, funny, and creepy. This better not become a usual thing between them; she just may end up dying from a heart attack.

Sasori lay back, staring up at the open ceiling to the sky above. It seemed rather clear at that point that he didn't perceive her as a threat. The young man in front of her seemed very lost in his thoughts. Sakura suddenly found herself overwhelmed with the feeling that she was intruding, as if this were a private moment and she hadn't been invited. "I'll just take my leave or whatever," she mumbled as she stood and turned her heel, ready to rush the hell out of the most awkward situation of her life.

"Don't go."

It was quiet, but she heard it. Sakura stopped, and slowly turned her head. "And why not, Sasori?" she asked quietly.

"I hate being alone." Still staring up at the sky, he crossed his arms behind his head.

That was quite the admission, so much so that she took a sharp intake of breath. This man was so different from the machine that she had battled not even a full year previous. It made her head spin. "Okay, then." She took a seat on the tilted stone, waiting for him to say something, to do anything that would break the silence growing between them. He didn't make a sound for some time, simply remaining in her company, looking anywhere but her before asking quietly, "Why the flowers? I'd think you of all people would be the last to do such a thing."

That was the exact question she had been asking herself over and over again, ever since she had resolved to make this little trip down 'memory lane'. She might as well be honest. "I have no idea why, actually," she mumbled, likewise avoiding his gaze, "I guess I just felt that it was kind of sad that no-one left anything behind to show that they even remembered you. I suppose I thought I should do something about that." She smiled a little. That couldn't have been the only reason though. Her words rang dully, almost seeming half-empty, half-explained.

Sasori snorted. "I have puppets, and a legacy. Isn't that all that is needed?" he said absently, "Besides, I currently am not 'dead', so to speak; in fact I am incapable of dying, which is...ridiculously ironic."

He was bullshitting her about puppets being all that he needed; his request of her to stay with him had proved that much, but she wouldn't press the issue. "Well, you're like...half dead, or something. You're like a zombie!" she said jokingly in a lame attempt to ease the tension between them.

"It's disgusting," he sniffed, "I am trapped within this imperfect body, and it isn't even my own. I can't even die properly." His last words were laced with an incredible sense of bitterness.

"It's a horrible technique, the Edo Tensei," she said softly. "It was just...cruel." Sasori nodded slightly in agreement.

"I don't suppose you could kill me again," he drawled, almost laughing at this. "Cruel indeed," he murmured after a moment, closing his eyes.

Sakura drummed her fingers against her knees anxiously, resisting the urge to laugh uncomfortably at the inrony of what he had just said to her. She would open up that option to him later, but right now she wanted to know a few things. She needed closure with him, however tentative it may be. "Um, the whole flower thing...during the war..." she hoped she didn't have to explain herself more than that.

Sasori glanced over at her from the corner of his eye. "What about it?"

"Why?" she asked bluntly.

Sasori sat in silence for a bit, before replying, his tone soft, "Because there is as much beauty in life as there is in death. It's almost hard to see how it took so long for me to realize that much." He sighed quietly, staring up at the nonexistent ceiling before closing his eyes once more. "Honestly...I don't even know." But he did.

He was calling her beautiful again. And she was pretty sure she was blushing again, though she was sure he meant it more as a fact then a compliment._ 'Wow that sounds conceited,'_ she thought. "So," she grinned," Beauty, huh?"

Sasori looked over at her, the corner of his lip twitching. "Don't get a big head, I'm merely generalizing." It was blatantly clear to Sakura that he was lying, and he made no effort to hide it.

"Suuuuure thing," she sang. Sakura was almost surprised at herself with how at ease she was becoming in these short moments, around him. Just a little. She knew he wasn't going to kill her, at least.

"You know...this would have been so much easier if you'd simply accepted my offer."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "What offer?"

"To become like I was," he said absently, "You should count yourself lucky, I've never extended such an offer to anyone else." He smiled slightly. "I could still do it, you know, but it wouldn't have the same meaning anymore."

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. And even scooted back a bit, although he made no move. "Erm, thanks. But no thanks. I kinda like having skin and stuff."

Sasori chuckled quietly to himself. "You wouldn't have understood anyway."

"No, I don't think I ever could, honestly," she mumbled loud enough for him to hear, "Too emotional and all that jazz. You know. But I, um, appreciate the offer?"

The puppeteer turned away, sitting up slowly. "I wouldn't do it anyway, at this point, you have no need to worry. It was a selfish thought."

She looked at him, her gaze soft. He was being selfish in wanting companionship? "Are you that lonely?" she asked.

He didn't answer.

She started to bite her fingernails, and kept tapping her foot on the ground, nervously thinking about what to do next. God, if this were any one of her friends, the decision to hug him or give him some sort of comfort would have been so easy, but it wasn't.

"My life is..." he paused, then corrected, "was, one great irony in itself. No-one around me could understand me, and I grew to hate everything...I rejected society, humanity, and yet at the same time, existing for my art alone...it was a great life, and a productive one...but it was empty of meaning. I couldn't continue without humanity of some sort, in every shape and form."

It was then that Sakura realized that when it came down to the barest truth, Sasori was just another emotional wreck, another product of the shinobi way of life. A tortured soul that hid his pain behind cruelty and carelessness for everything but himself. It hardly made up for the things he'd done, not by a long shot, but the regret, the humanity that was seeping through the cracks was enough for her to get over the last bit of fear of him that she had. His sincerity rubbed away the ink on the label that said "cold mass-murderer" (though admittedly the label was still there). She saw more of him in that moment than she had ever thought to consider and, it seemed, he saw a hell of a lot in her. Perhaps they had come to some sort of understanding?

Giving in to temptation, she closed the small distance between them and took a seat beside him. Sasori glanced over from the corner of his eye. "What?"

She shook her head, giving him a small smile. "Nothing." She slipped her hand into his nearest one tentatively, lightly, giving him the option to pull away. That slight touch sparked something, and she knew then that she shouldn't have made the move to hold his hand. She would only end up hurting all the more for it.

He seemed to startle slightly at her touch, but didn't move away. After a moment, his fingers closed over hers.

His hand was cold, but that was to be expected. His body was that of a dead man, and lacked warmth, or a beating heart. She didn't mind; it actually felt kind of nice against the heat of her hand.. And he had nice hands, too...(she blushed slightly at the thought). They were slender, the hands of an artist, with long fingers that wrapped perfectly around her own. But still, she didn't seem to mind. His fingers tightened the smallest amount around hers, giving her hand a slight squeeze as he curled his knees up to his chin, closing his eyes. "I wish I had met you under different terms."

A different year, a different life. If they had met, under different circumstances...she wondered, internally, would there have been friendship, at least? He was so different...but their interests fell along the same pattern, to some degree, although his own had taken a much darker turn. But still, she couldn't help but wonder.

"Well," she shifted closer to him, "better late than never, as cliche as that sounds."

Sasori chuckled quietly at this. "I have a feeling I would have liked you very much."

She pushed her hair back from her ear with her free hand, the familiarity of the gesture not lost to Sasori. "You don't like me now?" she teased.

He glanced over with a small smile and reached out, the action almost startling her, but she didn't flinch away as he gently cupped her cheek in one hand. "I like you very much now, but it's too late." His voice was calm. It seemed that in death, he had come to terms with many things, and this discovery...that there was something between them, half-acknowledged, was no shock.

Her heart rate spiked, and she turned to face him, ignoring the fact that she was blushing again. He was pretty good in doing that. At the same time though, she just couldn't let go of the deep sorrow that laced through everything to do with Sasori. "Yeah, it is a bit late." Lightly, her fingers grasped the wrist of the hand that held her cheek. "But there's the moment, right?"

"Yes. There is that." He closed his eyes and leaned forward, resting his forehead lightly against hers.

They remained that way for a couple of minutes, simply enjoying the company, the short moments when the loneliness that had held sway over both of them, for many years, perhaps, was alleviated for a while. It was some time before Sakura decided to speak, having worked up the courage to ask. "If you had the chance to...be at peace...would you take it?" She knew he would, but she had to ask.

Sasori opened his eyes, meeting her own. "Are you suggesting that there is such a chance?"

She nodded after a moment, her eyes searching. "We figured it out. A sealing technique, I mean." She paused, looking away and biting her lip, before turning to lok at him once more. "I know it."

He remained silent for several seconds, before saying quietly "I would take such a chance."

"What do you want to do?" she asked, her hand tightening on his.

"I want to be at peace," he said softly. "This world is tired of me."

She tilted her head down, squeezing her eyes shut. She felt like she should be crying, but the tears wouldn't come. This was probably one of the saddest, most hopeless situations she'd ever been in. That one would choose death over, well...it wasn't exactly living, was it? She looked up, kneading her lip between her teeth as she met his eyes. Then the tears came, and she looked away. Cool arms wrapped around her, and she was pulled close to him, his lips buried in her hair.

"I am the last person you should be crying for," he said gruffly, "Now stop it."

She sniffled. "I can't help it, you jerk," her voice was weak as she wrapped her arms around his waist, cheek resting on his chest as she sagged against him. She couldn't hear his heartbeat. He was already dead, she _knew that_, but she also knew that it would feel like killing him all over again but infinitely worse, because she cared this time. She buried her head in the crook of his neck, and sobbed. She still didn't know the exact reason why, but she was crying her heart out. He had been her first kill, her first take-down. There was no getting away from that, no way she would forget. She felt soft lips press against her forehead as he held her, silent, until she calmed down. Her body continued to shake with quiet sobs for a few more minutes, before she began to gather herself. Sniffing, she pushed back a little so that she could look at him more clearly. "You know," she started, voice cracking slightly, "I should really thank you, for everything." His confused look said it all. _'For trying to kill you?'_ She laughed a little. "Before my battle with you, I felt as if I was stuck. My closest friends were growing stronger in leaps and bounds, and I was always stuck watching their backs. Always." She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes on her sleeve, her voice gaining strength. "But, during my fight with you...I felt like I could actually do something. Like I was actually getting somewhere. I guess what I mean is that it's...almost something I look back on fondly, as odd as that sounds. Maybe because that's the first time I ever felt confident."

He blinked. "Well..." he cleared his throat. If he had any blood flow, Sakura was sure he would be blushing. "It's good to know I did something right then, I suppose."

"I...I can do it now, if you want," Sakura said quietly.

He drew her closer to him. "Not now," he spoke, "But soon." After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "You should keep that confidence. Don't ever think of yourself as 'lesser' of a shinobi. You are phenomenal in your own way because you act on your _own _strength, not that of others," he said quite seriously, "And if you tell yourself any different I will come back and haunt you again." The corner of his lip curled upward in a slight smirk.

Sakura laughed. "I won't." She shook her head. "I'm way past that, now." Lightly, she slid back to sit beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. "It's not like you could do anything to me anyway," she said with a small smile, humor evident in her voice.

His smile widened slightly. "Very true." He leaned forward suddenly and pulled her halfway into his lap, catching her by the neck and waist and dragging her into a kiss. After a moment, he broke away. "Do it."

The smile faded from her face and she bit her lip, tears streaking down the sides of her face as she leaned forward, taking his hands in hers. Markings spread from her fingertips and slid over his body; up his shoulders, curling around his cheek and neck. "I have lone last thing I need to do too, you know," she said as she reached into the small bundle of flowers that sat beside them both, and pulled out a single one...a daisy. "I think this belongs to you." Her voice quavered as she held it out to him, one hand still clasping his, holding his spirit rooted to the body until she found the strength in herself to let go.

His eyes widened, and his brain somehow managed to tell him to take it. He did so, his fingertips brushing hers. "You kept it," he murmured, shocked. How she managed to keep the simple flower in such great condition in the midst of war impressed him. WHY she would was beyond him. He smiled inwardly. She never ceased to surprise him. "You keep it." Gently, he tucked the flower behind her ear and said with a small smile, "I'll be waiting, if I can."

"You hate to wait."

"I think that I can be patient, in this case." She leaned forward without hesitation and pressed her lips to his cheek. He smiled. "It's time, Sakura," he said quietly, squeezing her hand. "Let go."

"Okay..." She was crying again, she could vaguely tell, as she slid both palms lightly on his chest. The markings darkened upon his body, and she let go.

She didn't look at him as the sealing jutsu carried on. She was afraid that it would cause a disconnect somewhere, and if she stopped it now as it ran its course she didn't think she could complete it again. The marks glowed, and he lightly rested a hand over her own, his fingers tightening around hers as the light suddenly became blindingly bright. It disappeared seconds later, and he collapsed.

A single, choked sob tore free from her throat. She held him as close as she could. She wasn't crying, but she felt her body shake with the pain of the moment regardless. She felt as if she had missed out on some great opportunity...something GREAT, and she felt horrible about out. Slowly, she stood. She didn't know how long she sat there, holding his body, but she stood, carefully laying him down. After some time the thought occurred to her that she should bury him, give him a proper headstone, just...something, anything.

* * *

><p>Sakura looked down at the small mound of freshly-turned dirt, and the small cross she'd erected at its head. She didn't give him some long speech about how she'd always miss him, and always think about him. She didn't say anything for a good while. Hours could have passed, but she wasn't aware of anything but her and the grave she just made for a man who shouldn't mean much of anythign to her. But he did. He left such a great impact on her life, even if his way of doing so was a little skewed. Finally, she smiled.<p>

"Thank you."

She turned, hefting her pack over her shoulder and making her way back toward Konoha.

End.


End file.
